Flora of New Zealand Series

desert poa

; Lectotype: AK 1940! D. Petrie Maniototo Plain, Upper Clutha, Otago, 1000-3000 ft (designated by Edgar 1986 op. cit. p. 446).

Small, compact, greyish perennial tufts, < 10 cm, with densely crowded rigid leaves overtopped by slender flowering culms; branching intravaginal; leaf-blades disarticulating at ligule. Leaf-sheath much wider than leaf-blade, membranous, glabrous, ribs distinct, lower sheaths whitish straw-coloured, shining, upper greenish. Ligule consisting of 2 lobes at either side of leaf-blade, 0.5-1 mm, much shorter or 0 across leaf-blade, finely ciliate, abaxially with sparse minute hairs; usually extending as a rim-like minutely ciliate contra-ligule, to 0.2 mm. Leaf-blade 0.25-1.5 cm, inrolled, to 0.5 mm diam., stiff, often curved, grey-green, glabrous, ribs distinct; margins and curved tip scabrid. Culm 1.5-8 cm, longer culms often bearing a single cauline leaf c. midway, internodes glabrous. Panicle 0.5-1.5 cm, compact, oblong, spike-like; branches and pedicels very short, sparsely scabrid. Spikelets c. 2-3.5 mm, 3-5-flowered, silky greyish green to greyish purple. Glumes ± equal, 1.5-2-(2.5) mm, 3-nerved, glabrous; lower narrow-elliptic, subobtuse, upper ovate-elliptic, obtuse. Lemma c. 1.5-2-(2.5) mm, faintly 3-5-nerved, elliptic, subobtuse to obtuse, shortly finely pubescent almost throughout, ± glabrous near tip or rarely throughout, margins wide membranous above. Palea c. 1.5-(2) mm, ± tangled pubescent throughout. Callus with small tuft of short crinkled hairs. Rachilla minute, c. 0.2-0.3 mm, minutely hairy; prolongation twice as long. Lodicules 0.2-0.3 mm. Anthers 0.2-0.4 mm. Gynoecium: ovary 0.4 mm; stigma-styles 0.75 mm. Caryopsis c. 0.5-1 × 0.3 mm. 2 n = 28. Plate 7F.

S.: eastern areas, rare in North Canterbury and not recorded from Southland. Lowland to alpine in short-tussock grassland, on rocky, stony, or depleted ground.

Endemic.

Poa maniototo is not only distinct because of its silky spikelets, but the ligule, largely consisting of 2 lateral membranous lobes and extending as a contra-ligule, is unusual in Poa; a contra-ligule occurs also occasionally in P. acicularifolia.